VISTA Newsletter

TST NEWSLETTER
Vole Z, Ho, 5
T/S 18868,1506 and 2х-81

EDITOR'S COLUMN-- I hope the first
thing you notice is the new VISTA
scs i 1090, which I created for the Great
ES Eã Gi Ба E га Horthwest Mini-Fair from а public-
F domain program in our library. I
dux DU та са ва кайый Lope uou like it; I am trying to
` EEE ЗЫ ІЧ =f improve the neusletter in small ways
each issue. You may have noticed
С Е a e mention Qf the VISTA newsletter in
рылык Misi: "Time Dezigns Magazine" as one of
the ten best in North America:
ize like that means a lot to an editor and I hope to be deserving
of same in the future, The good press haz gotten US a number of пеш
PS, eas Well. Welcome to Bob Mix of Seattle, WA; Garfield Isles of
Newark, MJ; Walter Komlosy of Susquehanna, Рез В. Arthur Gindin of
Petoskey, MI; Chris Crawford of Gilmer, TX} and newsletter trades Wi th
thé Chicago Area TEUG “contact Gary Lessenberry> and the Capital

District T/serz of Albany, HY icontact Jack Barone». Welcome to SII! I
AS YoU know, we have recent) y completed the Great Northwest TS Mini-
Fair, 20 the focus Qf this issue will be an the Fair goings-on and my

reaction to some of the things I experienced, A secondary focus will
be on hardware modifications to the T€-1G88, az I returned from tre
Fair extreme|u inspired and I have modified my computer in a number of
“Wags since the last issue, I hope to help some of you do the same
things I have done to make Mg Computer more personal. So, let's get to
it11... Tony Hilling, ed,

LARKEM DOI КЕРСЕТ ТУЧЕ WITH А LREKEM- First off, I did not get
around to converting the Software Pharm hi-"es T$-1868 games mentioned
in the last izzue, mainly because I changed computers. I finally wore
out the ТЕ motherboard I started With im 1979-- I used it zo much
that the edge connector traces began peelimg up. so I installed a new
motherboard and made a discOowerg-- Contrary to my earlier Jkl i shed
ideaz, the Memotech 646K Ram Iz compatible With the Larken disc EYS ben
Wing Setting D in the Memotech manual ¢ Switches 1,2 and 3 off “down,
Switch 4 On/up». This setting iz also compatible with the MEMO tech,
centronicz Frinter I/F, zo now I have a fJI] EFE disc SYSTEM I can
Orter no concrete explanation ofr why MY present motherboard works and
the lazt one didn't, but Mu QUESS iz that the worn edge connector was
mak i rig poor contact creating a buUz-Ioading problem, Things are working
fine now, but here iz one other thing to Check, as I have had trouble
here. Make Sure а] | connectionz are clean and tight throughout your
SYStEM, ezpecially between the conrectoór on your Larken IVF card arid
ЧООР RAM andeor printer ТУЕ behind it, My RAMS connector is zomewha t
loose, leading to unreliable SAVES апа LOADS to and trom disc. nu
drive Would hang Up due to these |oose connections, destroying data
and heavily gauzzing «magnetic zpikes or zUPQgez? a few disks, ruining
them. I used good old rubber bands to hold evergthing together, and
the problems have gone sway. Finally, at the Fair I had the pleasure

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[ — Маат те агі Сата User croup were expecting, but those in

tO aszizt Ed Plinzki of Lebanon, OR in getting his Tà/s-18058 Larken
SYSTEM up and running. He Had been puzzling over it for over a year
With D IUCK, and hg brought his system to me in the hope i could
help. After a Quick look at the Equipment, I decided the drive cable
was on Upside down, which causes tre drive Motor to run all the time,
and the drive's jumper switches were Set wrong. These settings seem to
магы FROM drive to drive but are скис іар the System Simply will mot.
function without the proper Setting. These Steps cured the problem, £6
if YOU are having trouble, give them a try. AIZO, I read in "Time

Designs" that only fifteen T/S-1668 floppy interfaces are left

&Brüobabig less now», I? you Stil) want Gne, get in touch with Larken

3t RR-2 Navan, Ontario, Canada, K4B 1H9, (6182535-2666, right away.
T

=
They are zelling for $272.95 nluz sth. It the T$-18G8G disc system is az
Fare az I've been ead to beliewe, this column az such mag go ta
"Clive Heaven" to pe repiaced by a hardware/zotftuare hacker'z forum.
Time witl tell,

: i: letter £p LH MÀ nous -ations
On HMemotext, Zx-TePW*SB and hi-resalution TIS {MRE

[#5]

DS : 3 ND
eic B software, informing
US of his future plans im the TIS field. Fred accepted a job offer ir
Ottawa, thus moving and turning Over the marketing Of his TS.
goods to Jim Horne or Insomniac Ejec trOnicz, Ho. 3 - лия ког шау,
vancouver, BC WER SJF ‚ Canada, < enq FIA-E rR, Fred Süuggeztz we write
and Support Jim, az he iz a "rare bird". in our world--— a МЕҢ TS
dealer. sua AIEO, the Fublic Domain sof£tuare libh"ary tapez are now
available From Tim Ward, 9142-0 Ginkgo or, EM, Tacoma, WA 38433, There
are five C-8Gs at prezent, Feprezenting over zm рга, and Tim
woUld SISO appreciate subMizzionz at the same addrezz. Here'z your
Chance for immortality im the Tus won"ld, which iz easier to get than
Mone... Mew member Б, Алыш Sindin asks if an gone knouz how taz get
qraphicz output out ar the Corilla Eanana printer and T/s-15800 combo.
i have beer trying, but all I seem tO do is Crash the SYSTEM. AMY help
would be appreciated bg Many and published in the VISTA mewsletter,

THIRD ANNUAL GREAT MW TE MINI FAIR REPORT- What I am referring to
журу as "The Fair" tock lage AGUES, &-- ‚ ABBE st Cosma; i tam Ho tzi
in Portland, Om, The fair'z adver tized hours were 9-6, but for most
ШЕ РОГ , Pt шд Ttg zolid days gf "E jnzilair Heaven" » Attendance шаш
erzitimnated at {ES oguite а bit FEE F than the ao rganizerz ¿dTi me Dezignz

Sted tO the best our hobby had to offer, Seen ;

, With a table fll af QL goods, the new >= ard
Lu cro Lp sf Seattic soa i рїї ying harduar Е dens |
and a Radic Shack ар Matron robot controlled bu a

attendance ul rm
the Fair МЕГЕ x
Psion Organizer
Educational zoftu.

Te Lage «+ МЕТ a

MADE шнур , Canada, with a doorprize drawi Du and а
прил р dizpla Ч

#

j Jack Dohang, With his extensive linge of “Fairware ,
hardware for Saje, demonztrations of ZASS Jiar SYLEMS and LOTS of rec
sSdvice; 2068 UPDATE, the magazine for 2965 disc systems had free
ISSUES on the table; a handout from the John Qiiger Cg maker of ТУЖ
Peiated hardware:

e uj

large double table presided Over by Tim ane
Stephanie Woods of "Time Designs", featuring all their back issues
their newezt books, 2968 tech manualzt, TFS T-Shirtz, and an Ears
i t

Im

е of
TS hardware, Foote Print printer I/Fs, and even an original spectrum

At Computer featured the new ESOS, with the Psion Organizer

fiie Cabinet" also in evidence; and a swap table, which tended
Mety mainly because things lasted about five minutez before
Pe Struck and new homes found. VISTA Member Tim Ward had great
here TU disc dFive and surplus 2658 Modem.
Brezsnted by Ed and son Damali, whe

v and zpecterm-64, 2858 modem boards, 2-10
intePfaces and Sams ComnputerFactz with plenty of advise, conversation
and qood humor to go around. Free rFiewzletterz and back issues were
distributed by CATS of Fairfax station, YA, Triangle &inciair zer
ш

iT; wes

f or

L

Woah oS
=
m

iu z

[
FOR of Carrbora , МС; Thè Hacker pr oam Las Медан, HM, the
СОАТУ of Clacks Mas County, ПЕ ; ANA VISTA of Vashon Iz i

E

duo vendors put together cutest AAI ара dz Of T/T "merchandize-- RC
Enterprises of ore gon Mihi, OF and Zeb Fa YSTEMS of Woody ven, HY. RMG

literally i rought a ton of stutt- hardware such az dizc drives,
| printzerz SSS and as number п f Mew T/$S-158ms . Модем, РС=, рн p
| züuppliez a БЕШ, their line of Lar ken Disc interfacez . and zurgiuz
-T/$ ware, inciuding power Supplies , zO55 keyboards and bare Tet eed
moinerboardz az spar Е ракш for $3. I plugged mine in and i t worked

Uu

at

perfectigl The bountu didn't stop there, either, az RMG ШТЕР a
number" Of British Sinclair MAGAZINES at $2.75 each, cases оф TAS
BOOKS, lots of Softuare, discz, disc bahkz and Fair buttons, Hecdlezz
to sag, theirs was a BUSY booth, Zebra SYSTEMS alza earned praize «
cuztomerz» for their large line of Software for *sinclair computers ao
all kinds. They crfered Spectrum gan arid Timex 2968 software at
Barth. Tek] nnn арек : t Lite oe graghicz softuare for
| T€ 2063, the Last Tablets at $45, Memotech БЕ,
and Szk RAMS 3t the seen, original zX-Si kits
| Dian-working zx-Si1z a c, SUG much more. At the end of the Fair

à

^ йу

mt
Mow ig G

Zebra had a "Fire sale", with Тхе software at $i each, and Timex
4565 zoftuare at (rice

| cutting, and he
| tO L.R.1". "Hectic

n
їн of at

а i
2. Mot to be outdone, Ed cCrey began a round of |
ard z ina "I don't want tO haul! this al

zt describes the BOS i GSctiwitg. AL the w
| Both, ihe public domain software tapez went gquickly- Librarian
| Ward brougst five sete of five tapes and was taking orders bg th
Gf ihe Fair. The VISTA newsletter special edition was a popular

on

гг
— ка {п

i Е

end

"fre&ebie" and the demonstration Graphics disc. ran on my T/ES-1580 both

Е. AISO Stopping by the VISTA booth were members
Don Wal ternan “Sterling Heights, MI>, Joan Healy «El Paso, TX», and
| Clarence Hamilton ENON, BOS. It ig really a pleasure to riraily
Т the PEDDIE go spend time WPT Lit letters to. The final “THANK,
YOU" goes to the the coats: User Group» hosts for the event, They шер
ЕХТРЕМЕ ТЦ WEI) reprezented With а number of QLz and tages
demonstrating computer controi of Machines, raphic likenesses of each
Qroup member, а "EetaBazic" (2058 Extended lamngauge> display program--
а littie of everything. another Of their Special touches waz tru oz РШЕ
banner", £our by Six feet ang very nice
nonzenze" look Of their area, it zasid "|
done", That they di arid as great debt cf

M". mv

zet umo,

ш d

on
ent
E

adding to the "na-
а club that gets things
i i$ owed to CCcATYS,

uu

pu

+з 51
шора oi

we

+ Mi
+ itt

К]
u

E

MOSTE, "Time pe

hi
d
d

igni and КМС Enterprises, zg FZ, and Rod Gowen,
producer, who really mobilized his forces and knocked himself out te
give uz, the ТУЖ OMT TY, one of the best events ever, Door prizes

9
t
ard deaiz were in abundance, and to zum it ali np in the words of Ed
Grey, "Where were your", е

AM EDITORIAL buy Amthomy Hil

i ing
Even though we are taking positive steps tQ continue our hobby, ista,
sinclair computing, through gearly computer gatherings, I sensed an
АЕ ТИ of gloom ang Pu db at the кыре able discussion held
к

Fron B n. to Midnight, Auguet 6. It se Pda there WHS Pa mau dammntir:g
th dui di ing numbers E Sinclair. compsterigstz, citing deciining user
Ин» membe ШШЕ iack of плыш раш, апа | ac

ard rui TOME thpeu eiut zunmdzrezti
figurgez МЕЕ hm mam gone EE em c

Of Support in activity

nated, to my view?

EOF dawn to GE
|

ег cu

p
WDE тарты come SUPPi Se to anyone? After a Hp Timex,
тм me ai, did "рыт the рїш" on uz-- we all krie 4 that uam
ines bg me gmd cs popularitu, bot HOT OF PRODUCTIVITY. rour
аг ги the FEST horne co cupa, hep crazh amt d Wis, S
TIR cngezst of all the pen ene „рыт, look :

TE 1 TIS Jan

DS GF Colgco | Fudam Users hawe ton work i ved i
i

Firmly bz ciining memberzhip tren has hit bottom and
whati s cope п if You will,

dedicated uzerz, Stubborn ones
ср cnm ПД cur presse rarduarge rather than
re-enter the pcarni Dua LATE with another . harder to USE machine. as
editar oF the VISTA Mews be таш I receive Jetters almazt daily Fron
Rp а who arc MEM, YES, пеш L РЕ, who need n Board crabe eM the
their computer. For our Robe Y to rebound zomewhat, we zhaouidg
о heja ani Jor Wi ак. We will n УЕР CEZANNE az popular az WE
о KU that i: Feagzon to quit. We nawe Some tej ng unigue
her&-- a completely c кесе, аху to program, un E to Modify, and
‚реп у, PReat mor WOU шагир We arc the hobbyists, mob tnc
° МЕРЕ" With de grgez from presti IIS Universities, Those цы ux
Бате out y ara ago to the Mainstream of the Pc Worlds Mhat Wwe need
to dao s Lake the initiative, and organize a national Grain zo we can

гї
s

Ñi t
T

that аг

m

"inilizme gur get in touch with those TEEPE that al ajang
and apg ne t dmt то nts Zt with Мт groups c there are Blentg». x i
this direction zo vnder us Ч with the forma tion OF BEML Zzin:

Hari onai users Jug Т, 7518 mrbardale Brag Port Ric

Richey, FL 3438558,
crt to become valuable to each of US. It
& 2b the di: x E UL MEE
izstiorm js a creat Way for a national

Yo pte E an
DLEE XI = gre
WES ve con:

our mnodemz

ion за ug

QNARE BOWS - А MAINE cose” UNLOCKER Feo TOM Max (SEAME , WA)
REX Pusiuc DOMAIN
START > 203€ OL р HL, DE * A HANDY NULL SPJ IN ROM
2216 4G LD (сн ADD), HL : PONT те PEM "NAug"

FD 36 eg фо LD Сева _ NR), BD + FORCE AN BRC RST dw RET
ea 4d > JP, SAS" (JUMP (NT LOAD" ° BASK

THIS REQUIRES No PROGRAM NAME” JUST LOAD ic ANYWHERE
AND CALL IT.

CLOADR w NEXT ISSUE...)

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23

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TAS TALL кз RESET SWITCH

By Anthony Willing

MOTE: AS this project involves soldering:on the T/$S-18GG
Motherboard, neither VISTA or the author accepts responsibility
for any damage that may occur if you attempt this project.

WHY YOU MEED A RESET SWITCH: Because every once im a while, your
computer" getz "hung ug'"-- the screen goes blank, the keyboard
accepts no input. The Uzual remedy ig to just pull the plug, but
this putz undae Strain upon your main power input jack, and soon,
it's worn Gut. The zoalution iz to add a Switch that will open to
rond the RESET pin оп your z$8 chip, thus Starting your TASS
CPU over at zquare one, Sinclair saved money by omitting this

suitch, but it iz арі te базу to jnstal one vourses ge... 8 mas M i

WHAT YOU HEED: Round up solder; a fine tip soldering irons a
screudrijver (to take the T/T apart»; some small Gauge stranded
wire SSUCh ag Radio Shack 278-1381, but агу will do» for
connections; a small SPST momentary contact switch; normally open;
push button type Clike Radio hack 275-1571 of Z75-15475; some 1K
OHM reziztors «Radio Shack 271-1221); and, of course, your Т/®-
1000,

WHAT TO DO: 1. Open up your computer, Tuo of the five screus are
Wider thè front rubber feet, 2. Open up the case and decide where
TO mount gour zwitch, On a Stock T/S-18GG, the best place is on
the back, at the right rear corner, az there is lots of room here,
If you have an accesorg Keyboard, you have plenty of room
anywhere just place it where you won't brugh against it by
accident. Driil a proper sized hole for your Switch. If you are
Careful, you can drill without removing the keyboard ribbon
Cables, a gius. Eg Sure to blow out all plastic residue and burrs
inzide. 2. Trim the leads on one of the resistors and solder to
one of the legs on your switch. 4. Solder a length of wire to each
leg of Your Switch and ingztall the Switch in your case with the
nut provided. 5. Look to the rear edge connector of your T/$-16658,
Abe zide-with the chips facing up. Starting at the right гапа
corner, count in three ping &"fingers"» to the left. There should
be a tiny hole Somewhat between fingers two and three. This is the
RESET line; poke one of the wires through this and solder it there
With a TINY bit of Solder. BE SURE to put Solder HERE AND ONL
HERE. Megatnezz counts! Б, Solder the other wire to GROUND. My
favorite place iz ta the end of the metal grounding Strip on the
bottom of the circuit board. The double finger near the kegy-slaot
on the bottom oF the circuit board iz 2130 GROUND, but a Wire
there may Get in the way of gplug-on peripherals later, zo I put my
wire on the end of the Strip where it's soldered on. Trim any
excezz wire and zalgenr the remaining end to GROUND. 7, Fut your
computer back together, re-inztalling any ribbon cables and Screws
you мац have removed. 5. Power up, If you get no "K" prompt,
Unplug immediately and check for solder bridges, Shorted wires or
Excess solder. If you get a "Kk", type im a REM Jine and press your
RESET button. WORKS just like "MEM", az im nothing in memory. Fat
YOUrSei¢ on the back and егу your Mew addi on.

IVING A MONITOR

Wi | i 1 caref drill the 1/4" hole for the jack, and
Driginolly printed in the April, 1985 CATS M , Mid en the 1/ ias SE
A “golden oldie” from the CATS Archives. This is

к к А assembly outside the case, and install it, being
being reprinted in response to a question fron

rom the TS 1000 l Mark Fisher

ieee PN aut ` careful not to leave any solder where it shouldn't.
акин a Аны vs editur be. Carve the case to fit the new jack, insert the
chips, and enjoy!

The T/S 1000 was designed to produce useable
results on a standard ТУ. Its display was limited
to 32 character lines, partly to ensure that the
letters were still legible. They are larger, but
if you spend a lot of time in front of the set,
the blurriness of the standard TV screen can be
wearing. The fault lies in the circuits of the
reciever. A standard TV is designed to create a
pleasing image from 6 feet - while at 18 inches,
the features are often blurred.

A monitor, on the other hand, has been
designed to produce a crisp image up close.
Unfortunately, the average monitor requires a
different signal than a standard TV, and the 1000
does not offer a suitable output. Like many other
things with this machine, this can be changed!
The correct signal is present, but is too weak tc
drive а monitor. The mod involves making three
solder connections within the machine, to add a
one transistor amplifer for the signal,

| J;
| | 4 45v
Materials required are: hole „ ANE

case to clear)
2N222 Transistor (Radio Shack sells these, but

theirs are of variable quality. A Motorola
version will have a higher gain and.a crisper
output than the average Radio Shack
specimen.) |
0779319174 wattresistor——————— ——— — — — —]-——

1000, 1/4 watt resistor

IN914 glass diode. Don't worry about the precise
part number - all those little fellers are
about the same.

A panel mount RCA Jack (ex. Radio Shack 274-346)

The circuit can be put almost anywhere. There
is room to fit it inside the modulator without
affecting its operation, thus leaving an
uncluttered machine, & the option of either TV or
monitor output. It involves drilling holes very
near to some resistors in the modulator, but I
think that the results are worth it.

To install the circuit, first remove the ULA
and 286 chips, and store them in aluminum foil (to
protect against static electricity). Next,

N4148

loo

Monitor Amp Schematic .—

CATS Ч ALPLICT